United States v. Lola Shalewa Barbara Kasali — S.D. Tex., No. 4:20-mj-01644

Case summary

A criminal complaint filed September 4, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas charged Lola Shalewa Barbara Kasali over a bank and wire fraud scheme targeting the Paycheck Protection Program. A postal inspector's affidavit says a June 27, 2020 application for her business, Lola's Level, claimed 8 employees and a $775,000 monthly payroll; a Boston lender approved $1,937,500 on July 15, 2020. It says Lola's Level had never reported wages or a hire to the Texas Workforce Commission, and that Kasali registered it with the Texas Secretary of State on August 7, 2020. The day after the money arrived on July 20, 2020, the affidavit says, she opened four accounts and moved $1,937,000 into them. Seizure warrants signed August 25, 2020, it says, recovered the full $1,937,500. A second application, for Charm Hair Extensions, claimed 99 employees, sought $1,875,944 from a Lubbock lender and was denied.

Case at a glance

The claimed payroll came to $1,162,500 a year per employee

The affidavit divides the claimed $775,000 monthly payroll by 8 employees: $96,875 a month, or $1,162,500 a year, for each one. In 2019 the account that later received the loan never held more than $2,200.

The tax forms were never filed with the IRS

The four 2019 Forms 941 submitted with the Lola's Level application claimed 5 to 10 employees and quarterly wages of $1,453,125 to $2,906,250. The affidavit says the business filed no Forms 941 in 2019 and that all four were unsigned and undated.